Panning: It’s All A Blur…Almost

From the first moment I learned about slow shutter speed panning last year, I can’t seem to get enough. It’s like a little dose of Christmas on your LCD. You don’t really know if you’ve got a winner until you look at your photos. When I nail it I’m giddy. And there’s different types of “nailing” it, and I really like that too. Sometimes I love the way an image has a cave painting quality, other times it’s all about the clarity defined within the blur.

Doesn’t this remind you of a cave painting?

I think this is so interesting converted to black and white and given a little tonal something-something

What’s panning you ask?

It’s when you focus on a subject that’s moving from left to right (or vice versa) in front of you, and you follow its movement at a slow shutter speed. If you’re successful, the subject, or at least the head if you’re shooting wildlife, comes out sharper than the rest of the image. It takes a lot of practice but it’s loads of fun—at least I think so—and it gives a picture a wonderful sense of movement.

During my last trip, a very large herd of wildebeest gave us ample opportunity to pan. They would pick up speed as they moved in front of our vehicle and for over 30 minutes they moved as if we paid them to do it.

Thank you for the tip about the shutter speed Susan! We’re heading to Golden Gate Highlands National Park tomorrow, for a couple of days of both business and pleasure, and I’m holding thumbs that we’ll find some galloping antelope to try this technique 😉